One of the foremost outcomes of poor sanitation is the toll it takes on our own health, and that of our family. Diseases can easily fester in our toilets, and standing water can cause a haven for disease vectors, while untreated waste contaminates land and water, bringing diseases into our communities.
Sanitation begins at home, but it doesn’t end there. Even for those of us who live in housing societies with clean toilets, the danger doesn’t stop at our doors. We live in community with other people who live in substandard housing with poor sanitation facilities, our tap water comes from communal sources, and we live on the same land, and breathe the same air as everyone else. This problem multiplies manifold in high density areas like our metropolitan cities, and we saw easy evidence of this during the Covid-19 pandemic when our cities had much higher rates of infection and exposure than rural areas.
Harpic, India’s leading brand in the lavatory care category, has been championing the cause of good sanitation practices for years now. They have partnered with News18 for 3 years now in the Mission Swachhta aur Paani initiative, which is a movement that upholds the cause of inclusive sanitation where everyone has access to clean toilets.
The first step towards fixing the problem of sanitation is to understand the diseases that come from these conditions.
Poor Sanitation and Common Diseases
Waterborne diseases
In India, children still succumb to diseases like Diarrhoea, Cholera, Typhoid, Amoebic Dysentery, Hepatitis A, Shigellosis, Giardiasis and many others. Every single one of these diseases is caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water, which then causes bacterial infections inside the body. In communities where toilet sanitation is a problem, or where municipal waste (which includes toilet wastes is allowed to flow untreated into land and water masses, these diseases are increasingly common. In Cholera, the disease progresses rapidly, and can turn fatal in a matter of hours. Typhoid fever can last for 3-4 weeks. A person with Hepatitis A feels better after a whopping 3 months, that too, after significant care and nutrition.
Each of these diseases is entirely preventable through good sanitation practices. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation expose individuals to contaminated water that carries these diseases.
Neglected Tropical Diseases:
NTDs are a set of infectious conditions that mainly impact those segments of society that are already the most vulnerable and impoverished. These infections are poverty-related and particularly abundant among people with limited access to safe water, sanitary facilities or adequate health facilities.
Diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, visceral leishmaniasis, soil transmitted helminths, or leprosy, are debilitating, disfiguring and stigmatising. They impact the lives of over a billion people worldwide, many of whom live in India.
Vector borne diseases:
Besides vector borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue Fever, Yellow fever, and Chikungunya, are commonly seen in areas where good toilet sanitation practices are not followed, and where sanitation facilities either do not exist, or are poorly maintained. Toilet sanitation isn’t just about cleaning the toilet bowl itself, but ensuring that the area surrounding it remains clean and dry. Any standing water attracts these vectors. Each of these diseases is caused by vectors who flourish in dirty standing water. Overflowing sewage is another common breeding ground.
The spread of antimicrobial resistance
Poor toilet sanitation and habits can lead to preventable infections, which in turn increase the use of antibiotics. This overuse of antibiotics can lead to antimicrobial resistance when bacteria and viruses evolve to become resistant. To prevent this, it is important to improve toilet sanitation and habits, which could reduce the unnecessary use of antimicrobials for preventable infections.
Poor sanitation affects women and children disproportionately
Children below the age of 5 who have low immunity against infections too bear the brunt of poor sanitation and unclean toilets. Repeated diarrhoea and other water borne diseases result in poor gut function that prevents children from absorbing nutrients in food needed to grow and thrive. Stunting, which affects almost a quarter of children under 5 years old, globally, is a direct result of poor sanitation and resulting environmental enteric dysfunction. Beyond physical stunting, these conditions also lead to poor cognitive development.
Women who don’t have access to clean toilets often resort to harmful coping mechanisms, such as delayed urination or reduced water intake, resulting in urinary tract infections, which can in turn lead to increased risk of pre-eclampsia, miscarriage and anaemia. They also often limit themselves to visiting the toilet only very early in the morning (when it is likely to be the cleanest). This infrequency also causes internal strain on their organs, and can lead to kidney problems. For women who menstruate, not having access to sanitary toilets can create other problems that go beyond physical discomfort.
Clean toilets must be a shared responsibility
Public and common toilet facilities are seen as belonging to the community: instead of it being a shared responsibility, it becomes no one’s responsibility. Often, these facilities are so dirty and ill-managed that people stop using them.
For clean toilets to be a reality, we need more sanitation workers. However, it is hard to attract people to a profession that is looked down upon by society, and one that carries immense risk. Sanitation work involves hazardous conditions, and often, these workers aren’t given protective gear. Harpic decided to approach this problem in a way that creates a permanent solution through their Toilet Colleges. Harpic has set up India’s first Toilet College in 2016, with the stated objective of improving the quality of life of manual scavengers through their rehabilitation by linking them with dignified livelihood options. Today, there are several World Toilet Colleges across India.
Beyond the training of sanitation workers, there is a need to change the mindsets of the masses, and educate them. This is a problem Harpic and News18’s Mission Swachhta aur Paani initiative aims to solve. By driving awareness, by creating conversations, and by bringing together the best minds in the country to the table, Mission Swachhta aur Paani aims to emerge with solutions we can all employ within our circles, no matter how big or small.
On the event of World Health Day on April 7th, Mission Swacchta aur Paani brings together a panel that comprises policy makers, activists, actors, celebrities and thought leaders together with Reckitt’s leadership and News18. The event will feature a keynote address by Reckitt leadership, interactive Q&A sessions, and panel discussions. The speakers include Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Brajesh Pathak, Director of External Affairs & Partnerships, SOA, Reckitt, Ravi Bhatnagar, UP Governor Anandiben Patel, actors Shilpa Shetty and Kajal Aggarwal, Regional Marketing Director of Hygiene, Reckitt South Asia, Saurabh Jain, sportsperson Sania Mirza and Padma Shri S. Damodaran, Founder of Gramalaya, among others. The event will also feature on-ground activations in Varanasi, including a visit to Primary School Naruar and a ‘Chaupal’ interaction with sanitation heroes and volunteers.
Join us here for a spirited discussion on issues that directly impact you and your family. The more we learn, the more we know, the faster we will move the needle towards a Swasth Bharat through a Swachh Bharat.
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